Byron power forward Daniel Lowe spent what he called "three-quarters of the offseason" in the weight room and the gym.

And it's showing.

He has turned into a different player, and now both he and his coach hope he can help make the Tigers a different team as well.

"He hit the weight room, and hard, in the offseason," Byron head coach Tom Schmidt said. "He's always had that soft touch, good hands. He's been good around the basket. But now, with his new strength, it's taken him to another level."

Lowe posted 16 points and 10 rebounds as Byron strolled past Pecatonica 67-55 in the fifth-place game of the Forreston Tournament on Friday night. The Tigers are 7-4 and, as Lowe starts to prove he's better than ever, the Tigers expect to prove they belong in the race for Big Northern Conference bragging rights.

"We're all starting to feel like we can build this thing into a good team," Lowe said. "The thing is, everybody seems so focused on getting better, it's bound to happen."

Lowe is averaging just under 21 points and 9.6 rebounds this season, after averaging 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds last year. While he's only grown a couple of inches, it's the muscle that Lowe added that is making the biggest difference.

He headed into this season 20 pounds heavier, and it's the kind of weight he can throw around effectively in the paint. Headed into Friday's game, he was shooting 57 percent from the field, and the team's big man was even 7-for-14 from 3-point range.

"It makes a big difference when it comes to boxing out and rebounding, obviously, but it's just made me a better all-around player," Lowe said. "I saw the potential in myself at the end of last year, and I knew if I worked at it, I could really do something this year."

So far he has. Now the Tigers will find out how much of a difference it will make. They went 4-8 against BNC foes last year, and they jump into this season's conference schedule full force when they come out of the break.

Mendota, Winnebago and Lutheran will all be early-2014 opponents for the Tigers, and they will give Schmidt and his crew a good idea of where they are. While they may not be quite where they want to be yet, they hope to find signs that it's not far off.

"We've shown some flashes already, and with Daniel stepping up his game, and the rest of the guys picking it up, this is definitely a team that can compete," Schmidt said. "This team will go as far as our defense will take us, and if Daniel continues to be a big-time threat, we've got some nice pieces out there."